1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an e-mail server for relaying e-mail transmitted from a transmission-source device and received at a transmission-destination device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a proposed electronic device (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-271672, FIG. 10), management (retrieval, classification, etc.) of image files is facilitated by creating the image files in such a manner that identification information (date and time of photography, patient ID, camera ID, etc.) acquired from another electronic device (an electronic camera, ID card, etc.) is recorded in the files together with image data.
It has become possible in recent years to view an image that is based upon an attached image file at a transmission-destination terminal (a terminal possessed by the receiving party) by transmitting the image file upon attaching it to e-mail. When it is attempted to transmit information that facilitates image file management (retrieval, classification, etc.), as set forth in the above-cited patent reference, upon recording the information in an image file transmitted as an attachment to e-mail, it is required that the transmission-source terminal record such information in the image file in advance. However, recording information in an image file involves expenditure of time and labor at the transmission-source terminal.